I was about to hit the sack this morning (don’t ask) when I noticed a few emails in my inbox about David Letterman. “Is he still alive?” I wondered. It occurred to me that perhaps he’d died in an autoerotic asphyxiation accident, and would soon be joining David Carradine and Michael Hutchence in the Freakazoids You Wish You Knew Less About section here in the Spirit Smoking Lounge. Why else would somebody send me an email about David Letterman?

Unfortunately, Letterman is still alive. And people were writing me because of his misogynistic “jokes” about Sarah Palin and her daughter. But unlike my jokes, Letterman’s aren’t funny (and let that serve as notice that the humor portion of this post is now officially over).

First, Sarah Palin is a crack whore with a “slutty flight attendant look”:

Her 14-year-old daughter is a whore, too:

Or, even funnier, a rape victim!

Folks, I spent a good portion of last year writing about this shit. Remember the Sarah Palin rape jokes? Remember the “Cunt” t-shirts? Remember the boiling rivers of misogyny that poured from the so-called progressive blogs? Remember the feminism-free feminists who laughed right along?

…The looming fact of 2008 is our discovery that misogyny is the gravest ill in our society. It’s virulent and violent and spreading. It’s out of control.

Today’s generation of young adults has marinated since childhood in a pornified, sexist culture in which women are relentlessly objectified, demeaned, and ridiculed. Hating on women (or should I just say “bitches” or “hos” now?) is all they really know. It’s second nature. It’s on TV, in the magazines, in the music, in the pornography. The public debasement of women is more commonplace than I’ve ever seen.

Just this morning I learned that Microsoft’s new Bing Thing will feature a “porn theater” mode, so that dudes can see clips of porn videos right there in their search results. They won’t even have to click on a link! Imagine the time that will save! Dudes will be able to conserve precious micro-seconds in their race to whack off to images of tortured rape victims. And not long after my mind was blown by the Bing Thing Porn Theater, I came across this fine post by Apostate about what it’s like in Amsterdam, a place where women are displayed as wares in shop windows:

In Amsterdam, I found the general atmosphere threatening. Not by the Dutch, who see right through you, you tourist scum, but by all the sex tourists. Never mind that I wasn’t available – I was a woman, anatomically and otherwise indistinguishable from those wares in the shop windows. Once they’ve dehumanized a bunch of people who look like me, it’s not hard to dehumanize me personally. The subtle difference that I was not offering myself for consumption was nullified by my ownership of breasts and pussy, in common with the prostitutes. To men who view women as commodities, why would there be any qualitative difference between me and them? It’s bullshit that men are smart enough to tell the difference between the two. They aren’t. It’s a subconscious thing more than anything and they would have to be smart and self aware to get it. Most men (like most people) aren’t.

Emphasis mine. That’s how it works. Sexism isn’t selective, and misogyny isn’t something that only applies to certain women. The dudes can’t tell the difference.

Every joke about raping Sarah Palin or her daughter is a joke about raping you.

Full marks both for doing what the media refuses to do, be consistent on what is not appropriate, but also on bringing up the social costs to what the Dutch have done. Apostate is exactly right.

It takes effort to teach your children to act “like gentlemen” particularly in a society that uses sex to sell everything to people younger and younger.

In my opinion due to simple human nature we guys need to be taught restraint. Even before our society was as highly sexed as it is now it was important for boys to understand what is socially unacceptable (complementing appearance or beauty) and crass the crude lechery.

It’s hard enough in the US of today but when you have a society that literally sells sex as a commodity and tourism for the same it becomes nearly impossible.

That restraint and training is like the nuclear genie it is virtually impossible to put back in the bottle once it is removed.

If one is taught however then if the line is cross one can be corrected, you can’t be ashamed of what you don’t know is wrong. It was my unpleasant duty to make such a correction to a teenage friend of one of my boys. Since he was taught it hasn’t been repeated in my house or (to my knowledge) elsewhere.

If society doesn’t scorn or correct this kind of thing (no matter who does it or who the subject is) it is doomed for more of the same.

What’s really annoying about the last two videos is that he’s just using Palin’s daughter as a prop to make jokes about notable MEN (Spitzer and A-Rod). The effects are that she ends up being portrayed as a prostitute or a rape victim, but those effects are secondary to the punchlines about the men in the jokes. So not cool.

I saw something yesterday about how “Palin has engaged in character assassination heretofore unknown in American politics, and now conservatives are going to object to her being attacked like that?”

Well, no, not conservatives, but maybe, human beings with decency and a sense of right and wrong. I was thinking of pointing out that they seem able to refrain from attacking Michael Steele with racial slurs, but I was afraid they’d conclude that they’d be absolutely morally justified in starting.

Every joke about raping Sarah Palin or her daughter is a joke about raping you.

Exactly….and so the appeal isn’t simply to be “good” and not join in that shit…it’s to wise up enough to know that whatever you cheer on, WILL someday come and bite your OWN ass ! Hello?! Figure it out!

Thank you for an excellent article. I know most lefties don’t agree with Sarah Palin on her politics, which is fine, and they have every right to disagree with her on any policy issue. But it is always heartening to see when someone can put principle over politics and stick up for the rights of all women, not just women that you happen to agree with.

I collected some offensive comments this morning from some fauxgressive blog commentators regarding the Letterman misogyny. They remind me why I am no longer a part of the Dem party and why I don’t even want to be associated with these people. There are nutcases all over the internet, but when so called liberal sites allow hatred like this to stand, they are complicit.

I just refer to her as the inbred Crank Whore from Wasilly”

“She breeds like a damned crazed weasle. Hell she just crotch dropped a mongoloid retard”

“Did he say that Palin’s slutty crack was pathetic?”

I’ll spare people the rest. One reason I collect crap like this is because of gaslighting and re-writing history. People who look at you innocently and say things like, “what misogyny?” Or, “I never saw any sexism during the primary, are you sure you aren’t over-reacting?”

I can’t get over all the people talking about how many children she has. A) How the hell is it your business, B) you’d be just as pissy if she didn’t have any kids and C) my grandmother had seven, so shut the fuck up.

I am a conservative woman. It is really nice to know that there are a few true feminist left in this world. Thank you for calling a Letterman on his hateful comments. There is always grounds for agreement and disagreement as long as we are respectful of each other as human beings.

Despite the sheer merde of Letterman’s comments and that he’s an unrepentant schmuck, I have a glimmer of optimism: Conservatives4Palin, Hillbuz.org, HillaryVillage, and TNA have posted names, links, addresses to organize people to write sponsors. Mars, Embassy Suites, and Best Western are especailly targeted. This sort of emerging collectivity for action is a great thing.
Admiringly yours, aka Santafek.

Sarah Palin may not be everyone’s politic’s, but she is a honest and sincere women. To have her children verbaly attacked sexually, is just so disgusting. What the h*** is wrong with the democrats that they would allow this behavior …

Sadly, the majority of so-called progressive women (those I encounter, anyway) could not give a sh*t. Even if they call themselves feminists, their definition of feminism demands they be “cool” about the objectification of women as sexual objects, which they claim women can “own” and manipulate to their own advantage. And they voted for Obama, so they aren’t racist, and that’s what matters, isn’t it? I’m just so prehistoric, Marxist, with my concerns about sexism constantly ensuring the power balance operates against women.

Exactly Briar, because third wave thinks Feminism has achieved equality because they can get a job (sometimes, albeit paid less) and because they can hang out with men, and that equality with men is about behaving like men when acting like men means hating women. It’s weird. All they have achieved is the ability to hate themselves and women TOO.

“Why do you hate me” is the appropriate response when you see a man trashing another woman. They will be bewildered. But I don’t hate you. I hate THAT woman. Say, no, when you hate a woman for being a woman, you hate me. Men ..Why do you hate me?

Thanks for the sponsor list, soopermouse. Objecting about this filth to the sponsors is the only way we can hope to have this misogyny stamped out. We can’t depend on the networks/performers to have basic decency, obviously.

Can I just say as a former liberal feminist I am heartened to see a woman on the left say what I say all the time….this is NOT just a problem for Conservative women, if women on the left do not believe that these same idiots are not calling them sluts behind their backs they are deluded. I attended union meetings and protests until my 9-12 consversion and liberal white men have said more vicious and violent things behind the backs of ALL women, gays, blacks and btw that was in DEEP BLUE Maryland!

It was quite an awakening for me to really see the otherside and actually be disgusted with N.O.W. for whom I supported manically through the 80′s and 90′s to just stand back and let men talk anyway they want about women because they are to the right of them….very sad and very sick! The same with Conservative minorities and Conservative gays….the left is allowed to dismiss and demean them without being called out because “they” are evolved and obviously those to the RIGHT are animals again VERY SICK AND VERY SAD!

I applaud you and have the utmost respect for your shining the light on the HATE that has shown itself front and center in the 21st century!

Even if they call themselves feminists, their definition of feminism demands they be “cool” about the objectification of women as sexual objects, which they claim women can “own” and manipulate to their own advantage.

Great. Their solution is for women to actually sleep our way to the top, instead of just being accused of it. If this is progress, I think I’ll take a little regress.

Wow, that Kathleen Parker webchat is amazing. The condescenion toward Palin just leaps off the page.

Two things jump out at me – first the elitism. This comes out when she compares Palin to Jindal. She states that they are “moons apart” intellectually and in their accomplishments though the latter is odd considering thay are both govs. Also, Jindal was a disaster in his first national exposure while Palin was great. It appears that Jindal’s “paper” pedigree puts him into Parker’s class of people unlike the declasse Palin.

But this quote really jumped out at me:

“Kathleen Parker: I don’t have a problem with raunchy humor, but time and place are everything. In a nightclub, fine. But Letterman is sort of an American institution. It just seems to me that when a woman is running for public office, we should avoid sexualizing her.

Okay, I censored myself before so I’ll say it now. I also think it’s out of line for a woman to sexualize her candidacy, which Palin did. Just ask Rich Lowry, who wrote that he had to sit up a little straighter when she winked during the vp debate. So, maybe when you play the flirt and invite males to see starbursts bouncing off the walls (Lowry again), then maybe you invite the sexual punchline. I’m wobbling here.”

Palin sexualized her candidacy!? By winking!? Ridculous. Notice the emphasis though. So because Rich Lowry got a hardon when Palin winked that means she was playing the flirt and “inviting males to see starbursts bouncing off the walls” and thereby invites the sexual punchline (via Letterman?)!? What utter nonsense. Apparently, Parker is loath to put the blame where it belongs and can’t tell the difference between the real Palin and Tina Fey’s broad caricature of her.

People are twisting themselves into pretzels trying to defend Letterman over at Huff Post. Amy Siskind has an article over there. It’s basically the old sexism isn’t justifiable regardless of who the recipient is speech. Sad that we have to keep saying the same thing over and over and still it doesn’t seem to sink in.

Yep! Parker blames Palin for Lowry’s sexual response. Instead of calling Lowry out for being an idiot, she implies that Palin “made him do it” and, “sexualized he campaign” via winking. Parker should be embarrassed.

MIKA BRZEZINSKI: I wonder if it was the kid of Al Gore or Bill Clinton when he was president, or the Obamas, if that joke would ever be told.

JOE SCARBOROUGH: No, it never would.

HAROLD FORD, JR.: No, I disagree, I disagree. I’ve seen him go after –

BRZEZINSKI: But I mean this is an edge, this is an edge, to go after the kid and the issue of pregnancy in talking about a kid. I mean, come on. I’m talking about in this way.

FORD: Don’t get me wrong. It was wrong. But I think he goes after, he’s gone after—you do not have—the Palin situation is unique, and I don’t want to get in the middle of their situation.

BRZEZINSKI: Why is it unique? I know a number of Democrats who have kids who have gotten pregnant.

FORD: Well –

BRZEZINSKI: Why is it unique?

FORD: I don’t. Not at that—anyway, I don’t want to get in the middle. He apologized.

—–

This is the same Harold Ford who was attacked with subtle racial campaign ads, which the entire MSM (rightly) jumped on. And he thinks somehow Palin is unique? Why, because she was the first female Republican vice presidential nominee? That’s the only uniqueness I can see about her. I’m pretty sure thay called Hillary “unique” too, to justify the slurs. Unbelievable.

Sadly, the majority of so-called progressive women (those I encounter, anyway) could not give a sh*t. Even if they call themselves feminists, their definition of feminism demands they be “cool” about the objectification of women as sexual objects, which they claim women can “own” and manipulate to their own advantage.

[...] Palin fought back, conservative bloggers fought back appealing to the basic decency of people. True liberal feminists who value respect for women over party loyalty spoke up and slowly and surely the [...]

I attended union meetings and protests until my 9-12 consversion and liberal white men have said more vicious and violent things behind the backs of ALL women, gays, blacks and btw that was in DEEP BLUE Maryland!

For males (particularly the white variety), being liberal is like buying an indulgence from the church. This is true for Letterman, and for all of the people you describe. They act like they have a license in their pocket, and when questioned about it, the response is like “go bother that guy over there; he’s a card-carrying bigot”.

Well I’m old and perverted and have seen my share of porn. But if one thinks actual rape is funny or the rape of a child is funny (at my age anybody under the age of 45 is jail bait) they should talk to the nurses who handle the sex crimes at the emergency clinic, the EMT’s who bring them in, and the other first responders. As the Cowtown Cop said, “Never look at a photo a SANE nurse offers to show you.”
Sex has been used to sell everything at one time or another but I’ve never seen so much porn used to sell everything from goods to politicians.

What the h*** is wrong with the democrats that they would allow this behavior[?]

I don’t know why this surprises anyone. Look at the President’s own Press Secretary – one of the most sneering, condescending, rude, nasty folks ever to stand at that podium. And he LIKES being that way – he enjoys it. This is the man Obama hand picked to be his personal spokesman. That’s the leadership of the party. The sexism is almost incidental – they do the same thing to any opponent.

Obama’s like some stereotype of the Bad Guy in an ’80s high school movie, tormenting every non-clique member they can find, with guys like Letterman and Gibbs as part of the gang he keeps around to do the heavy lifting so he can look good to the teachers. It’d be merely pathetic if they didn’t have so much power over our everyday lives.

Yeah, I don’t even know, apparently her remark about small town mayors being like community organizers except with actual responsibilities was the worst case of political character assassination in American history. Search me.

Obots are really quite fragile when they’re taking those occasional breaks from foaming at the mouth misogyny….

Regarding Parker’s quote in comment 29 (“So, maybe when you play the flirt and invite males to see starbursts bouncing off the walls (Lowry again), then maybe you invite the sexual punchline.”) — this sounds eerily like the old nonsense line that the attractive rape victim “asked for it.”

“It’s bullshit that men are smart enough to tell the difference between [prostitutes and other women]. They aren’t.”
“Palin didn’t sexualize her candidacy. Men did.”

Letterman was way out of line, and I have read posts and comments from hundreds of other men who agree with me. I take it somewhat personally when some take the sexist and boorish behavior of individuals to cast general aspersions about the character of all who happen to share common genitalia.

Perhaps the first comment would be more fitting if the author claimed that the type of men who travel all the way to Amsterdam to buy sex with random women (and probably partake of legal mind-altering substances as well) often don’t care about difference between women in the trade and uninvolved pedistrians. Perhaps the second might have recognized that any “sexualization” of the Palin campaign was largely done by media sources most probably because sex sells.

When it comes to not objectifying people based upon their sex, what’s good for us ganders should be good for you geese.

A very thoughtful article. Though I suspect we would disagree on a lot of political issues, I appreciate that you want to be civil to people of all political stripes – as you have stated, misogyny of Republicans or misogyny for Democrates is misogyny all the same. The possibility of honest, healthy debate in this country is disappearing.

I take it somewhat personally when some take the sexist and boorish behavior of individuals to cast general aspersions about the character of all who happen to share common genitalia.

You shouldn’t. Saying that men-as-a-group treat women-as-a-group as the sex class is as true as saying that white people (as a group) have oppressed black people (as a group).

It’s perfectly commonplace to talk about the history of white discrimination without inserting caveats in every sentence that “not every white person did this.” It’s commonplace, for that matter, to say that the British colonized India and reduced Indians to second-class status, without inserting caveats in every sentence that “not all British people did this.”

I’m a man, father, husband and a feminist. I deplore David Letterman’s crude “jokes’. I will defend my wife and daughter to the best of my ability against Letterman and people like him. I hope that enough people boycot him now to get him off the air and out of public life.

Mysoginy is the symptom, not the disease. Palin’s sins are ideological heresy and acting above her station. She did not follow the accepted path of entering an Ivy League school, followed by work in an approved public sector or media job. Then you run for office. No, she worked in the private sector and as a newscaster after graduating from *gasp* Idaho (after a stop in a, horrors, a community college). She was a sport reporter (not a good one like Kieth Olbermann) and worked in fishing. How declasse.

As for ideology, well, she’s a conservative and religious. And she did not abort Trig. All the people who sonorously recite peans to choice are livid she did not abort her Downs Syndrome baby. Her bearing the child has spawned bizzare conspiracy theories… (I’d make a joke about Andrew Sullivan, but I’d be labled as homophobic.)

The vitriol on the left is getting scary. Look at the Daily Kos or the th Huffington Post. Neo-cons are tarred with anti-Semetic shibboleths. Black conservatives are decried as Uncle Toms. Gays are met with homophobic slurs. And women.. well, you know.

As for Letterman, what irked me was not so much the jokes, but the smarm and dishonesty of that phony apology.

I don’t know what to say. I’m just continually amazed at how bad things have gotten IRT misogyny and how okay most people are with it. I’m glad some are upset about this, at least. Excellent post, Violet.

And unfortunately, many people will associate David Letterman with being liberal. Maybe he represents a certain type of liberal d00d but he doesn’t represent me (because I’m a lady?) in the slightest. I may disagree with Palin on some things but I’ll stand in solidarity with my sister(s) on the right against sexism.

Letterman’s joking about Palin and her daughter in this manner normalizes the humiliation and dismissal of women who seek positions of power, and by doing this, Letterman carries some moral responsibility for the degradation and mistreatment of all women.

“I also think it’s out of line for a woman to sexualize her candidacy, which Palin did. Just ask Rich Lowry, who wrote that he had to sit up a little straighter when she winked during the vp debate. So, maybe when you play the flirt and invite males to see starbursts bouncing off the walls (Lowry again), then maybe you invite the sexual punchline.”

I don’t know if David Letterman is considered liberal or on the left or what, so I apologize if I am mistaken in thinking he’s seen as such. But then again, Bill Maher is considered liberal and misogyny is his religion.

“I was thinking of pointing out that they seem able to refrain from attacking Michael Steele with racial slurs, but I was afraid they’d conclude that they’d be absolutely morally justified in starting.”

Although we probably do not agree on much politically, I appreciate your outrage over the attacks on Sarah Palin and her family. It is refreshing to discover a progressive thinking individual who isn’t controled by vitrol and hatred and consistently applies their ideals. I look forward to reading your blog entries in the future.

No woman in any part of the world should ever be called a “slut”. Letterman you are truely a piece of crap. You had a choice to say no it is not comedy when you degrade people this way.

Ladies no matter what he has insulted all women so think of it as Letterman calling you, your daughter, mother, grandmother or aunt a “slut”. This is a below the belt statement literally and I wonder how Letterman would like it if we women degraded his penis.

Be outraged women write to the CBS sponsors who air their commercials during Letterman and tell them you will no longer support their products and in these economic times they cannot afford this bad press. Stand up for yourselves by fighting along with the Palins! If you are not outraged then play the video’s of Letterman over and over and put your name in the top 10 it will make you angry.

What you wrote last year is dead wrong: “The haters don’t care about Palin’s political positions. They’re driven by some inchoate impulse to crucify the woman herself. To rape her with words.”

There isn’t a ghost of chance that Letterman would be on the TV tonight if he had joked about the rape of the daughter of a Democratic politician. Playboy recently had a post on it’s website “Ten conservative women we’d like to hate f**k!”

Apparently it’s now ok to advocate violence against a woman or her children if she has the wrong (ie., conservative) politics.

They joked about Chelsea and Hillary (very often with violent imagery) relentlessly for 8+ years and again when Hillary ran (did it ever stop, really?). Regardless, both sides are guilty. When it comes to sexism and misogyny, it’s a free-for-all.

What you wrote last year is dead wrong: “The haters don’t care about Palin’s political positions. They’re driven by some inchoate impulse to crucify the woman herself. To rape her with words.”

I recommend you re-read the post, in its entirety. Just prior to the bit you quoted, I was noting that Sarah Palin’s actual political positions were quite different from the caricature. But the haters were too full of hate to care.

Furthermore, even if Sarah Palin’s politics were as extreme-right as the haters claimed, that still wouldn’t explain the hate. This country is chock-full of extreme right male politicians, none of whom have ever been crucified in the way Sarah Palin was. The misogyny was, and is, self-evident.

Apparently it’s now ok to advocate violence against a woman or her children if she has the wrong (ie., conservative) politics.

It’s not just conservative women. Many of the people who hate Sarah Palin are the same people who hate Hillary Clinton. People were openly calling for Clinton’s murder last year. And of course that was the culimination of years of vicious mockery of Hillary by the right-wing.

i’m so glad you wrote about this. i’ve been appalled at the treatment of palin by the media. it’s disgusting. it’s a shame that women of all political persuasions can’t see how acceptance of this hurts all women. letterman isn’t funny. the comment about liberal guys thinking they can say whatever they want is spot on. i’m disgusted.

I think that you’ve all got it wrong. Palin isn’t continuously crucified because she’s a woman, or acting above her station, or anything else. She is kept under constant attack because she is an enormous threat to Barack Obama.

She’s a populist, like Obama. The difference is that she does it better. She does it with joy and authenticity. Obama always seems to be playing the part of someone he isn’t. Hiding his past. Feigning confidence and competence. Palin wears her past on her sleeve, her heart on her other sleeve, and radiates competence, confidence and ability.

Her performance as a VP candidate was almost enough to turn the election. Everyone knows this, and the radical left knows that if she enters the next Presidential election, governor of a successful, prosperous Alaska in a country where most states will be bankrupt and most Americans will be living in poverty, pitting her personality and record against what is increasingly looking like a failed Obama presidency, she will destroy him at the polls and probably destroy the Democratic party in the process.

That is why even today, half a year after the end of the election, she is routinely viciously attacked at every opportunity. It’s part fear, part a sense of the danger she poses to Barack Obama and the Democratic Congress, and partly, I think, envy. Obama is a fraud, and even his supporters know it in his heart. She is the real thing, and her enemies know that.

Violet, I am glad that Instapundit linked you. As Aaron Akins wrote: “A very thoughtful article. Though I suspect we would disagree on a lot of political issues, I appreciate that you want to be civil to people of all political stripes.”

I couldn’t agree more. Keep up the good work – we’ll handle any disagreements when they arise ;-)

You said, “Just prior to the bit you quoted, I was noting that Sarah Palin’s actual political positions were quite different from the caricature. But the haters were too full of hate to care.”

Of course the haters had to caricature her political positions; it was all part of placing her beyond the pale, so they could justify the violence. That was the point: “Conservative = Disagrees me = Anything goes!”

You also said “”Many of the people who hate Sarah Palin are the same people who hate Hillary Clinton. People were openly calling for Clinton’s murder last year. And of course that was the culmination of years of vicious mockery of Hillary by the right-wing.”

I respectfully suggest that you name one person of the prominence of David Letterman (on the right) who called for the murder of Secretary Clinton or apologize.

As far as mockery, why is that inappropriate for a woman who claims to be a feminist icon, yet has followed her husband to power, all the while turning a blind eye to repeated accusations of sexual harassment and (at least one) accusation of rape. In fact, the Clintons operated in the same fashion: “Disagrees with me or stands in my way = Conservative = Anything goes!”

**** Toonces,

You said, “They joked about Chelsea and Hillary (very often with violent imagery) relentlessly for 8+ years and again when Hillary ran (did it ever stop, really?). Regardless, both sides are guilty. When it comes to sexism and misogyny, it’s a free-for-all.”

Please name one conservative of the prominence of David Letterman who called for the murder of Secretary Clinton or apologize.

I respectfully suggest that you name one person of the prominence of David Letterman (on the right) who called for the murder of Secretary Clinton or apologize.

I think you misunderstood. Read my comment again. “The same people” who hate both Sarah Palin and were fantasizing about killing Hillary Clinton are the Obama supporters.

This is bullshit:

As far as mockery, why is that inappropriate for a woman who claims to be a feminist icon, yet has followed her husband to power, all the while turning a blind eye to repeated accusations of sexual harassment and (at least one) accusation of rape. In fact, the Clintons operated in the same fashion: “Disagrees with me or stands in my way = Conservative = Anything goes!”

And next you’ll be telling us that it wasn’t wrong to create the Hillary Nutcracker because she really is a ball-busting bitch.

Lol, well I tried. I didn’t specify which “side” was responsible for the Hillary-hate, BTW. The assertion that it’s only Sarah who has been a victim and it’s just because she’s a conservative was incorrect IMO and I was arguing that, respectfully, without giving orders.

RE the bullshit: Would you rather have a nutcracker named after you or undergo the treatment that Juanita Broderick alleged in her interview with Andrea Mithchell on network TV?

Dig it: nothing excuses anything. Women are not battle trophies, not pawns on one side or the other, not quid pro quos for teams in member jackets to argue over. “Bill did this, so we can do that to their side!”

Yeah, if you want to read along for awhile, please do. However, I warn you, this is not a beginner feminist site. I’ve been a feminist all my life, and I don’t spend time arguing the basics with people.

During my early years the proper response to Letterman’s crudity would have been a good punch in the nose from Todd Palin. I know our current culture has grown beyond such things but, I can’t help but think that thats one reason society was so much more polite in my day.

Thank you for bringing this important matter to our attention. I can confirm to you that Ancestry.com is not an advertiser or sponsor of the CBS Late Show with David Letterman. It is unclear how the company’s name ended up on this list, but it appears to be a mistake. We would appreciate your help in spreading the correct information.

Sis,
LOL. I am well aware of the conventional wisdom about the bad old days. I would say more women today have to use makeup to cover the bruises than ever did in the past (in the US). And its due the the misogyny and the sexual objectification of women rampant in our society. Don’t project on to me your fantasies of the evil past. My daughters both have masters and are successful in a fashion that their mother and grandmother would have been hard pressed to achieve. I don’t begrudge those changes in society at all. the past wasn’t 100% bad anymore than the present is 100% good.

Kiuku, your posts #21 and #22 are diamond-sharp – music to my ears. What is so very, truly sad is that as deeply embedded as misogyny is in the collective mind-set, the outward expressions of it through speech, media and the like are so readily apparent and simple to expose – and should therefore be simple to point out and be recognized – yet the practitioners defend their obvious abuses to logic-defying heights, “turning themselves into pretzels” as someone here said, ignoring the blatantly obvious. Despite the zillions of cultural differences we have, when we become willing to lie to ourselves and ignore our obvious contradictions in order to stay part of our “political party”, we cease to be human beings and we become blind mice. Rejecting our abilities for love, sympathy, empathy and then discarding our “BS detectors” – all so we can “beat” the “other side?” Boy, it’s 2009 and look how far we’ve advanced as a species! Selling our souls – and our sex – for the glory of a blue or red bumpersticker.

I think all this talk about rape and even misogyny is overwrought. Obviously, David is just using the white trash pregnant teen stereotype that the liberal elites have been using against Palin. What strikes me is why liberals think jokes about Palin are even relevant. Why don’t they want to allow her to sink into obscurity like all losing VP candidates?

I don’t know what people who use the term “douchebag” as a term of contempt are thinking. But it is every bit as denigrating of women as the “c” and “b” word. In fact it may be more so.

Maybe they’re thinking that douching is a dangerous practice that offers little to no benefit to women while exposing them to greater risk of infection, and that it was advocated for seemingly no reason but to convince women that our vaginas are smelly, dirty and gross, and that we should be ashamed of our sexuality.

In my opinion, “douchebag” is an ideal slang alternative for “misogynist.”

I think you misinterpret Happydad’s comment. Simply suggesting that the way one thing was done in the past was better, doesn’t mean he’s advocating for a return to every single aspect of another age. And in light of the actual reduction in crime in states that allow concealed carry, it sounds like there’s some truth to the old adage that “an armed society is a polite society”. Happydad is just trying to say, IMO, that when a man thought he might get a punch in the nose for insulting another fellow’s wife, he would probably decide to say nothing after all.

Shorter Kathleen Parker: She’s prettier and more fertile than me. I hate her.

There’s no quid-pro-quo about the Palin daughters — not aware or Sarah or Todd Palin making fun of Obama’s or anyone else’s children. What’s being done to the Palin daughters (and her Downs’ baby, for chrissake) is simpla hostage-taking. I believe Mrs. Palin is woman enough to take the abuse directed at her, but the assaults on her family are nothing more than soft terrorism intended to drive her from the public stage.

And the absence of mainstream feminists from the pushback on that kind of conduct is nothing less than shameful. Why did the suffragettes bother, if their daugthers are going to sit this out, or worse yet, laugh along and wear T-shirts with the word “S-P is a C*NT”?

I have a five-year-old daugther, I fear for her — the pervasive sexualization of childhood, the dating pool whose frame of reference will be Maxim and Playboy “hate-f*ck” articles, the peer pressure around “body image” and “hooking up”, the casual use of “b*tch” and “ho” by middle-class suburban wanna-be gansta fanboys…

I cant’ go around punching them ALL in the nose, I can’t stop my little girl from growing up, and unless we move to the Unabomber’s cabin, I can’t stop her from growing up in that world.

Why are people surprised by this? Look, I was a Letterman fan from the beginning (back before Chris Elliot even lived under the stairs — if anyone will even get that reference) and you know what turned me off his show? Oprah had just started to gain national prominence and all of us at college loved her and watched her show in the afternoons. Letterman made one vicious personal attack against her after another, particularly for her weight issues. It got to where I couldn’t stand him. He’s an asshole. With an obvious agenda. But more importantly, Violet, you are quite right. It seems to me like the liberals truly hate women and the so-called liberal women who go along with their bullshit are the ones suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. Practically every issue they advocate is anti-woman and anti-family to some degree. Look at Keith Olberman, for a fun example. Jesus.

“It’s perfectly commonplace to talk about the history of white discrimination without inserting caveats in every sentence that “not every white person did this.” It’s commonplace, for that matter, to say that the British colonized India and reduced Indians to second-class status, without inserting caveats in every sentence that “not all British people did this.”

Same with men and male dominance.”

That does not make it right. The whole trend of improving public discourse has been to avoid the fallacy of (at least ambiguously) implying all when some is meant, whatever group one refers to.

One consequence of saying “the British” in that way is the outrage that (some) elite persons in that country – where it was elite persons who would have directed and most benefited from colonial wrongdoing – now use generalisations about “the British” to justify discriminating against the working classes; in particular, riding roughshod over the latter’s concerns about immigration in order to keep wages down through the threat of redundancy.

It’s not a question of right; this isn’t a moral issue. It’s a question of language and basic common sense.

It’s quite clear in Apostate’s post that she’s talking about the men who ogled her in Amsterdam. It’s quite clear in my post that I’m talking about pornsick dudes.

The only people who ever claim confusion on this point are white men — some white men, that is; not all, of course, but just a subset of white men; that is, the ones I’m talking about right now, who actually do this thing I’m describing in this sentence — who have a chip on their shoulder and like to pretend that they are an oppressed minority.

As I said somewhere upstream, this is not a beginner feminist blog. As such I’m not going to be drawn into this 101 stuff about whether every reference to men means “all men.”

I am a Conservative Christian 61 year old white male. And this is the first time that I have ever heard of a Feminist, complaining about the problem of Misogyny from the Left wing. Looks like we have more in common than we thought that we did.

I have read from several people that when Sarah winked, she was “sexualizing” the event. Now years ago, I used to hang around the bars a lot, and I remember one time that a friend saw a cute women and went over to talk to her. An hour later they did seem to be hitting it off, he looked up smiled and I smiled back and winked. And now I find that because I winked at a guy, I was sexualizing my relationship with him, I don’t think so. A wink can be sexual, but can also be other things too!

The Hillary Nut-Cracker, I do agree that it is wrong to portray her that way. But the Bill Corkscrew isn’t, since that is how Bill behaved all his life. I do feel a bit sorry for Monica, but she was the one that initialized the relationship, and now her name is also a verb for a sexual action.

But this isn’t the first time that the Left wing has gone after a Conservative women. Remember Paula Jones? James Carville, he said that Paula Jones was low life trailer park tramp, the sort that could be found if you dragged a hundred dollar bill through a trailer park. And no one complained.

Yet I am a bit surprised that only Sarah is being supported her? What about the Flight Attendants, who were called “Slutty”? I would think that Letterman’s biggest worry isn’t Todd, but some flight attendant “accidentally” spilling a cup of HOT coffee into his lap. And what about Alex, he was called a child molester, and he hasn’t said a word since. Maybe he is just bidding his time, waiting for a chance to get on the Letterman show, so he can reach out with his right hand for a shake, grab hold firmly and then start punching with his left hand. Men have been arrested for less being said, so either an absolute apology, or a kick ass time!

I do like the comment above, “being liberal is like buying an indulgence from the church . . . They act like they have a license in their pocket, and when questioned about it, the response is like ‘go bother that guy over there; he’s a card-carrying bigot’.” Well said, you hit the nail on the head.

I’ve been on the left and on the right, and IMHO men on the right have a much healthier attitude towards women in general and towards the women in their own lives. Whole forests have probably already been leveled on why this is/isn’t so, but my two bits is this: when your values include really caring about women as women, you accept and appreciate the differences between women and men, and by definition you no longer see “equality” as being “sameness.” Liberalism, modern or classic, is centered on equality as sameness.

This is an excellent post, though I would note that the first paragraph’s reference to personal behavioral problems brings unnecessary shame to the families of the parties in question.
I’m no victim of such filial disgrace, but discretion in respect of the bereft would strengthen the moral stance of your objection to Mr. Letterman’s shameful misstep.

Enough is enough! I am so glad to see people standing up for right and wrong regardless of politic. When Michele Obama said “Hillary cannot even control her own house, how is she going to run the white house”, implying Bills behavior was the fault of his wife by her somehow not taking care of or controling him. I am a conservative and most women I know were outraged, but from the far left and the Dem party, there was barely a peep.

Thanks Dr. Socks for yet another wonderfully astute, thoughtful column….CBS should do to Letterman what NBC did to Don Imus for his racist comments. Fire the pathetic sexist pedo-perv immediately. At the time Obama had written NBC asking for his immediate dismissal and saying if he had anyone like this working for him,he’d be fired. Where is the outcry now from the ‘progressive’ obamyopics? Don’t see any. Thank god Hellman just pulled out its advertising support and Embassy Suites.
Misogyny sells but we ain’t buying it any more. From the right or left. I am mad as hell and I am not gonna take it any more….

Thank you for your honesty and courage in defending a woman who doesn’t share your political views. You’re now on this conservative man’s “Favorites” list as someone I can respect even if I disagree with you.

To all the alleged feminists who defend Bill Clinton’s sexual harassment (and worse), the “tolerant” folks who slime Joe Lieberman and every other Jew with an anti-semetic fervor not seen since the Third Reich, and all you other locker-room-mentalities hiding amid the allegedly multicultural and tolerant ranks of the progressives – please note how Dr. Socks actually walks her talk and take a long look at who you claim to be and what you claim to stand for.

Violet,
My stumbling upon your website was happenstance thanks to a link via anncoulter.com. Thank you for writing about such an obvious yet never spoken topic. Indeed, women in America have become the last group of people that is acceptable to exploit, manipulate, trash talk, and put down for comedic reasons and otherwise. I’m sick of David Lettermen. I commend you for writing about such a heated topic, and am proud to call myself a feminist alongside you.

Jessica says: “Indeed, women in America have become the last group of people that is acceptable to exploit, manipulate, trash talk, and put down for comedic reasons and otherwise.”

This has been a great forum for pointing out the need to go much further in first valuing people as people and then treating them with respect. I’ve really enjoyed it (Wait for it…) BUT…

I just have to draw the line whenever I see someone label their group as “the last group” of perpetual victims.

Are white male dwarves just thinking to themselves “You know who doesn’t get a fair shake in this society? White women”. Or do you think perhaps the “humor” is getting to one or two of them? I can barely turn on the television anymore without someone finding a new reason this is just a wellspring of clever comedy.

Let’s try, “Indians” Native Americans. Forget for a moment the many legal and financial maneuvers done per year by the government alone (to say nothing of non-native profiteers) against Native’s, and focus just on the insensitive logo’s, jokes, accepted sayings (“Indian giver” anyone?), etc. Imagine Cleveland Indians with an equally offensive African American logo. Imagine the slew of jokes coming from “Everyone loves Raymond”‘s own Brad Garrett to a chuckling Jay Leno a couple years back, but instead make them about Korean Americans.

Or fat people…the stupid PC guy is an old fat guy and the Mac guy is thin, hip, cool and young with an attractive woman next to him.

Or special needs kids…what would Tropic Thunder be without the “Full retard” joke? Austic jokes are the newest front of this predictable lineup of hack jokes.

Maybe the blind, the chinese, the deaf, the homosexual, the elderly and muslim individuals in our society can live safe and happy in their prejudice free worlds? Yes?

I searched. Several great points in the spread of entries, but I’m slow and didn’t make the connection between it and any other posts (but there were many post so who knows). Maybe someone else did.

My entry revolved around American society, so I’ll make an assumption that it wasn’t mine. Not a noticeable amount of this going on except by choice in my state. Some seem very artistic but seem like they’ll look bad around 50 years of age or so.

(If I’m wrong on that, I’d appreciate it if you’d post it so it can be further exposed)

I do hope it wasn’t a crack against Muslims (as some of the articles made this connection loosely) in general as all the ones I’ve known here and even abroad seem a decent sort. Some societies are harsh and perpetuate harshness, but there are aggressive people everywhere. One of the harshest countries I’ve ever been to has very few Muslims…not many Christians either for that matter.

Anyway, this is one more of those “wake up call’s” that I’ve been getting to quit being so complacent in my attitude towards these “jokes” and actions. I’ve especially been appreciative of the consistency and thoughtfulness of the posts. Take care.

First of all I read a brilliant comment on this subject by a commenter on another Blog: “For the liberal male, the women’s movement has never been about feminism but hedonism.”

That being said I have always maintained(and I’m sure some smarter than me thought of it first) that since Hillary ran for president the left declared it to be open season on woman. The sexist attacks that were allowed will, in the long run, do more damage to the feminist cause than any right wing pundit, judge, preacher, or politician ever could have. Since the attacks were condoned by the supposed supporters of the cause they took on an acceptance and weight otherwise denied.

The fact is that if Sarah Palin had been a Democrat she would have been hailed as the greatest example of feminism since Susan B. Anthony. Everything this woman has achieved she has done on her own without riding on anyone else’s name or dime.

Another thing that I’ve learned from this election season and beyond is that women as a group must do some soul searching. For some of the most vile, sexist, petty, degrading remarks came and continue to come from women. Their remarks would have done Harriet Olson proud.

I am reminded of a better time when late night fodder was pretty much harmless nonsense before sleepytime. In a way it was a safe comfortable escape to end the day. Now that media is so consolodated we have….well what we have. I remember Mary Daly once saying “who protects us from our protectors?”.
The idiocy that passes for discourse in this country is the reason dolts like Letterman somehow even matter. I am so glad I found libertarianism and I will never look at politics the same way again, nor will I even watch mainstream news or network late night TV. (unless of course Ron Paul is on! lol)
While I am on my soapbox: after reading some posts… please remember we live in a republic, NOT a democracy and there is a difference. If you don’t know what it is, think of pure democracy as mob rule…or gang rape.
Understand that and you will see that Letterman is just one poster boy of a much bigger problem that has nothing to do with gender.